Longitudinally and vertically adjustable arch support for a shoe

ABSTRACT

An arch support for a shoe has a plate of spring steel having a preformed arch which is engaged from beneath by an adjusting screw to vary the height and curvature of the arch. The plate has a longitudinal row of indentations in its undersurface for selective engagement by the end of the screw to permit longitudinal adjustment of the arch by moving the plate. The engagement of the screw in a selected indentation maintains the plate in its adjusted position.

United States Patent 1191 Matteson Nov. 13, 1973 LONGITUDINALLY AND VERTICALLY 2,075,942 4/1937 Howell 128/597 x ADJUSTABLE ARCH SUPPORT FOR A 2,235,821 3/1941 Anderson.... 128/598 SHOE 2,288,665 7/1942 Anderson.... 128/598 3,667,473 6/1972 Matteson 128/598 William M. Matteson, 2210 North St., Nacogdoches, Tex. 75961 Filed: Aug. 21, 1972 Appl. No.: 282,060

Inventor:

US. Cl. 128/597, 128/601, 128/612 Int. Cl. A6lf 5/14, A43b 7/14 Field o1Search.... ..l28/596-598,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Primary ExaminerRichard A. Gaudet Assistant Examiner-Ronald L. Frinks Attorney-John W. Malley et al.

[ 57] ABSTRACT maintains the plate in its adjusted position.

4 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures Patented Nov. 13,1973 3,771,529

2 Sheets-Sheet 1' Y o o /0 a 0 32 3' 9% .4.j o

Patented Nov. 13, 1973 v 3 7 2 Sheets-Sheet 1':

LONGITUDINALLY AND VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE'ARCH SUPPORT FOR A SHOE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an improved adjustable arch support for a shoe and, more especially, to an improvement in the arch support disclosed in my US. Pat. No. 3,667,473, issued June 6, 1972.

In my said patent, there is disclosed an adjustable arch support for a shoe which includes a pressure distribution plate positioned above the insole of a shoe. An arch-forming plate of springy material, preferably metal is positioned below the insole. Both plates are fastened at their rear ends to the heel portion of the shoe. An adjustment screw is threadedly engaged with an element fixed to the pressure distribution plate and has a free end engaged in a short longitudinal groove in the undersurface of the arch-forming plate. Rotation of the screw adjusts the height and curvature of the arch of the arch-forming plate, while the engagement of the free end of the screw in the groove prevents lateral displacement of the free end of the arch-forming.

plate under the weight of the wearer of the shoe.

While the foregoing adjustable arch support ismost satisfactory in actual practice, it lacks the advantage of adjustability of the longitudinal location of the arch of the arch-forming plate in order to accommodate the various longitudinal positions of foot arches of different toes, or c. at a forward position near the toes or ball of t a foot, and coding shoes to indicate the position of each arch in each shoe. This system, of course, necessitates either custom manufacture of the maintenance of 'a large inventory.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved arch support for a shoe that not only is adjustable as respects the height and curvature of the arch of the arch-forming means, but also is adjustable as respects the longitudinal position of the arch of the arch-forming means.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved adjustable arch support for a shoe which accomplishes the above object with a simple, practical and economical structure.

It is another object of this invention to retain the many advantages of the above-described invention of my said patent while obtaining the advantage of the first described object.

Other objects and advantages willbecome apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of ashoe, partly in section, showing the basic components and relationship of an adjustable arch support embodying this invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the adjustable arch support shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of one of the components shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a view of the underside of another of the components shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an exploded elevational view showing a number of the components of an adjustable arch support embodying this invention.

FIG. 6 is a view of the underside of one of the components shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 but showing a modified form of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 but showing another modified form of the invention.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged plan view of one of the elements shown in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a shoe 10 having a laminate sole construction which is here illustrated as having three layers, usually of leather or rubber, an outsole 12, an intermediate sole 14, and an insole 16. The insole l6is contacted by the bottom of the foot of a wearer, and working components are provided for adjusting the height, curvature and longitudinal position of an arch area of the insole in order to provide a comfort adjustment for a wearer. For reasons later described, the insole 16 is attached to the intermediate sole 14, by any appropriate means, only in the forward area, i.e., in the area of the insole contacted by the ball and toes of the foot of'a wearer. Rearward of this area, the insole is unattached in order to enable it to be picked up and folded forwardly to provide access to some of the working components to enable adjustments to be made.

The working components include an arch-forming plate 18 formed of a somewhat-deformable springy or resilient material, preferably metal, desposed between the insole 16 and the intermediate sole l2 rearwardly of their area of attachment. The arch-forming plate 18 has a narrower rearward portion 20 anda wider forward portion 22 desirably preformed with an arch-like contour 24. For purposes later described, the underside of the plate 18, along the area of the arch 24 is provided with a longitudinal row of circular indentations 26; having concavely smooth bottoms, which is offset somewhat from the center line of' the arch-forming plate, in the direction of the high side of the arch. The plate 18 is unattached so as to be manually movable for adjustment purposes as will be later described;

Disposed between the insole 16 and the intermediate sole 14 is a pressure distribution plate 28, preferably of metal, desirably having its rear end secured, as by nails 30 or other appropriate fastening means, to the heel portion 32 of the shoe. This plate 28 functions to support and receive pressure from an adjustment screw 34 and to distribute such pressure over an area of the outsole 12. The adjustment screw 34 is operatively positioned between the arch-forming plate 18 and the pressure distribution plate '28 in such a way'that rotation of the adjustment screw adjuststhe height and curvature of the arch 24 of the arch-forming plate in accordance with linear movement of the adjustment screw.

The adjustment screw 34 is threadably engaged with a member 36 having a tubular central stem portion 38, interiorly threaded to receive the adjustment screw, and a flanged portion 40 at one end of the stem portion. Desirably, as disclosed in my aforesaid patent, the adjustment screw 34 is provided with an enlarged head 42 accessible for turning without removalof any portion or part of the shoe construction. For this purpose, the member 36 is arranged so that its flanged portion 40 overlies the pressure distribution plate 28 with the stem portion 38 depending through a hole 44 in the plate 28 and through an aligned hole in the outsole 12 of the shoe 10. Desirably, the flanged portion 40 is secured to the plate 28, e.g., by nails 45 or any other appropriate securing means. As shown, the head 42 of the adjustment screw 34 is thus accessible for turning from the bottom of the shoe l and is located in an area between the heel 32 and toe of the shoe so that the head normally is out of contact with the ground. Preferably, the lower end of the stem portion 38 is interiorly enlarged to receive the head 42, as shown, to afford greater protection to the latter. The head 42 may be slotted or recessed for engagement by a suitable turning tool, such as a screw driver or an Allen wrench, or may have a roughened outer surface for manual grasping to rotate the screw 34.

The inner end of the adjustment screw 34 preferably is rounded and. adapted to engage with a selected one of the indentations 26in the underside of the archforming plate 18. Consequently, the member'36 is suitably positioned for this purpose and in use transmits downward pressure from the screw 34 to the pressure distributor plate 28 to prevent damage to the outsole 12. It will be seen that the rotation of the adjustment screw 34 will serve to adjust the height and also the curvature of the arch 24 in the arch-forming plate 18. It further will be seen that by lifting the unattached portion of the inner sole 16 the arch-forming plate 18 can be moved forwardly or rearwardly to adjust the longitudinal location of the preformed'arch 24 in the arch-forming plate to conform with the location of the arch in the foot of the'wearer. In such adjusted location of the plate 18, the inner end of the adjustment screw 34 will fit within an indentation 26 in the row thereof so as still to be able to perform the function of adjustment of height and curvature of the arch 24 in the arch-forming plate. At the same time, it will be seen that engagement of the inner end of the adjustment screw 34 with a selected one of the indentations 26 retains the arch-forming plate 18 in proper longitudinal and lateral position so that it will not become displaced in use.

Although theengagement between the inner end of the screw 34 and the plate 18 is shown as being a rounded end engaged in an indentation 26, it will be realized that the same function could be performed by equivalent means, such as a hole 44 in the plate receiving a reduced end portion 46 of the screw of a length approximating the thickness of the plate 18 and terminating at its inner end in a shoulder engaged with the underside of the plate 18 about the hole 44, as shown in FIG. 7.

Further, while the member 36 has here been shown as being formed separately from the pressure distribution plate 28, it will be realized that the flange portion 40 of the member can be dispensed with and the stern portion 38 formed integrally with the pressure distribution plate 28, as is disclosed in my aforesaid patent and shown in FIG. herein.

Referring now to FIG. 8 of the drawings there is shown a modified form of this invention wherein the adjustment screw 34 is adjustable from the interior of the shoe instead of from the bottom thereof. For this purpose the member 36 is modified to have a shortened stern portion 38' by eliminating the interiorly enlarged end portion and arranged so that the stem portion projects upwardly from the pressure distribution plate 28. The head on the adjustment screw 34' is dispensed with and its rounded upper end is provided with an appropriate slot 48 or other configuration for engagement by a turning tool. Adjustment of the screw 34' can thus be effected by lifting up the unattached portion of the insole l6 and removing the arch-forming plate 18 to provide access to the screw.

The stem portion 38 of the member 36', if desired, can be extended on both sides of its flanged portion 40' so as to depend somehwat into an appropriate socket on the inner side of the outsole 12 of the shoe 10 to provide a sufficient length of threaded engagement between the member-36' and the adjustment screw 34' without interference between the stem portion of the member and the arch-forming plate 18. Desirably in the arrangement shown in FIG. 8, the lower end of the stem portion 38 of the member 36 is closed and does not project below the outer surface of the outsole 12. This construction possesses the obvious advantage of preventing possible damage to the adjustment screw 34 when the shoe is being-worn.

It thus will be seen that the objects of this invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. It will be realized, however, that the specific embodiments shown and described are susceptible to modifications without departing from the principles of this invention. Hence, the invention encompasses all modifications which come within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An improved adjustable arch support for a shoe comprising:

a shoe having an outsole, an insole, and a heel portion at least a portion of said insole being free of attachment to said shoe so that said portion of said insole can be manually lifted;

an arch-forming resilient plate positioned loosely between said outsole and said insole and having a preformed area defining an arch, said plate being free of attachment to said insole and outsole so as to be manually longitudinally adjustable thereb etween, on access thereto by lifting at least said portion'of said insole, in order to longitudinally adjust the location of said arch;

a pressure distribution plate overlying said outsole and secured at its rear end to said heel portion;

an adjustment screw operatively positioned and secured for rotation about a vertical axis between said pressure distribution plate and said archforming plate so as to adjust the height and curvature of said arch on rotation of said screw;

and a longitudinal row of separate means on said arch-forming plate each selectively detachably interengageable with an end of said screw for restraining said arch-forming plate against horizontal displacement while permitting rotation of said screw.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the adjustment screw passes through the outsole and has an outer portion accessible from the bottom of the shoe for rotating said screw.

3. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the free end portion is accessible from the interior of the shoe to rotate the screw, on lifting at least said portion of the insole and removing the arch-forming plate, and said screw is inaccessible'from the bottom of the shoe.

4. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the separate means are indentations in the undersurface of ,the

arch-forming plate. 

1. An improved adjustable arch support for a shoe comprising: a shoe having an outsole, an insole, and a heel portion at least a portion of said insole being free of attachment to said shoe so that said portion of said insole can be manually lifted; an arch-forming resilient plate positioned loosely between said outsole and said insole and having a preformed area defining an arch, said plate being free of attachment to said insole and outsole so as to be manually longitudinally adjustable therebetween, on access thereto by lifting at least said portion of said insole, in order to longitudinally adjust the location of said arch; a pressure distribution plate overlying said outsole and secured at its rear end to said heel portion; an adjustment screw operatively positioned and secured for rotation about a vertical axis between said pressure distribution plate and said arch-forming plate so as to adjust the height and curvature of said arch on rotation of said screw; and a longitudinal row of separate means on said arch-forming plate each selectively detachably interengageable with an end of said screw for restraining said arch-forming plate against horizontal displacement while permitting rotation of said screw.
 2. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the adjustment screw passes through the outsole and has an outer portion accessible from the bottom of the shoe for rotating said screw.
 3. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the free end portion is accessible from the interior of the shoe to rotate the screw, on lifting at least said portion of the insole and removing the arch-forming plate, and said screw is inaccessible from the bottom of the shoe.
 4. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the separate means are indentations in the undersurface of the arch-forming plate. 